Change of Plans
by Water-please
Summary: He brings her flowers, they go on parties together. Nothing out the ordinary, no? Well, perhaps there is a spontaneous change of plan. But - who initiated it? ONE SHOT. Pre-Always. Disclaimer: Unfortunately, there is no universe in which I would own Castle.


**Change of plans**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**_

_He brings her flowers, they go on parties together, Nothing out the ordinary, no? Well, perhaps there is a spontaneous change of plan. Who initiated it?_

He picked her up at 7. „Going on a date, you two?", was the usual comment they kept on receiving when they accompanied each other to various events. "Saving us the trouble of finding a proper date, I'll go with my partner.", was their constant answer. Not that this was in any way enough to explain their "arrangement", but they made it clear that they would not discuss it further.

He brought her flowers, a custom to which she grew accustomed to recently. He always picked a beautiful bundle, which always made her smile. Better than coffee. They failed to mention it to their friends, of course. No need to arouse suspicion.

"Hey, you look fabulous.", he complimented her. Another thing she grew accustomed to. "Thank you. You too.", she smiled back.

It was true. Castle in a tux, this ruggedly handsome famous writer – always eye candy. Not that she would admit that to anyone. She'd rather bite her tongue off. But…

A little look couldn't hurt – she was human, after all.

Her glance strode over his back, when he was on his way to the door, to hold it open for her. He had a great backside, broad shoulders, great ass… his neckline was the part of his which fascinated her most. She longed to caress the fine hair there… No. Stop that. Not a good idea. Save it for later. Whenever that was. One last look at his back though, just for future reference.

"Nooooo waaaaaay!", entered the surprised, but utterly delighted voice of Castle into her train of thought. "Kate Beckett, are you checking me out?", he asked incredulously, stressing every syllable very distinctly.

Her face instantly turned into a deep blush. "No!" She tried to sound indignant. "How could you…. How did you…?", she blurted out, before she could stop herself.

He wordlessly pointed to her mirror next to the door, still smiling like the Cheshire cat.

Oops. "Ah well, even if I had, you check me out all the time. Don't see the big deal here.", she tried to play it down, shrugged, and turned to the door, and not giving him more of her deeply flushed face. He thought it looked adorable.

"Oh, my dear Detective, I'm not complaining. You can check me out any time you want.", he smiled broadly, not concealing his glee anymore. Was that really happening? She admitted to look at him other than annoyed, which would have been a blow off in itself only some months before. Now, of course, things were a bit different, but…

He was so deep in his train of thought, pleased with the current developments, that he almost missed her next comment.

"And by the way, would not have made any difference anyway."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?", he asked on the way to the elevator.

She pressed the button and answered:" You know, nothing new here, is it? I mean, there is always a distraction of sorts. Someone having news to share, or one of us says something stupid, or I run… You know how it is." With us, she silently added.

They entered the elevator, and he tried to make sense of what she just said. And _how_ she said it. They had had various moments, where they got close, but got interrupted. She seemed to have noted too, but today was the first time she actually sounded… disappointed? A light bulb seemed to appear over his head. And in this new light, he decided to act instantly.

"No time like the present."

He took her in his arms, pressed her lightly to the wall of the elevator and kissed her. Lightly at first, but more thoroughly within seconds. He cupped her cheek with one hand, leaving the other on her hip, working his hand further behind her back.

She was taken by surprise, but responded instantly to his kiss. He tasted... yummy. Her knees got weak, and she clutched the lapel of his jacket for mere stability. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, but then they arrived in the lobby. "Too soon?", he asked rather breathlessly, meaning the kiss, not their arrival. She understood, shook her head and pressed the button to ride back upstairs, to her apartment.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Whoa."

"I'm scarred for life."

"That was about time!"

"Squeee!"

Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, and Jenny were standing in front the elevator, stunned. They wanted to go together with Castle and Beckett, but seeing their recent change of plan, they went without them to the party. They were confident that their evening was rather pleasant, too.

**A/N: If you feel inclined, please review. It's greatly appreciated. Sorry for the former version of this story; I corrected some errors (not native, so bound to have some mistakes in it).**


End file.
